A race to the edge of the solar system and into interstellar space could come out of a contract awarded recently by NASA for the University of Washington to develop an innovative space propulsion concept. The Mini-Magnetospheric Plasma Propulsion - M2P2 - would use the solar wind to push on a small imitation of the Earth's magnetosphere and accelerate the spacecraft to overtake the Pioneers and Voyagers and become the first manmade object to leave the solar system.

Most experts agree that 1999 is a likely year for a full-fledged Leonids meteor storm. Other forecasters think that better displays could be in store for 2000 - 2002. Whatever the case, the place to be before dawn on November 18, 1999 is outdoors and looking up!

Two NASA scientists developed VISAR, a new imaging technology, to help the FBI with a crime scene video. VISAR eliminates jitter, adjusts for inadvertent zoom, and brightens dark shots. VISAR will soon be available to help anyone improve their home, or professional video.